An investigation by The Times has found that NHS dentists have needlessly extracted through surgery thousands of teeth from their patients all in the pursuit of profits. The reporters found that NHS dentists find it more lucrative to extract a tooth rather than to try to save the tooth.

The motivation behind placing profit ahead of patients is borne from the fact that the system rewards them for cramming in as many patients as they possibly can. Dentist will therefore avoid the complex treatments aimed at saving the teeth and prefer to more straightforward extraction procedure.

That’s one benefit of seeing a private dentist – as you can discuss the dentist’s philosophy on “saving teeth” vs. extracting them. It’s worth having the conversation.

For people with uncontrolled blood sugar and diabetes, their bodies have a compromised ability to fight off infections and inflammation. This leads to problems such as periodontal disease — gum disease — which triggers inflammation throughout the body.

This inflammation is a serious health issue as it leads to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and other medical problems.

If you have diabetes and gum disease (with bleeding gums), make sure you see a dentist right away for treatment. The sooner the better, for your health is at risk.